We’re in the beginning stages of exams, and UofT has been zombified. Everyone seems to be walking around in various ‘walking dead’ personas. Last week I talked about taking time off to really enjoy how far you’ve come, so this…
Tag: How-to (page 2)
in which we continue the topic of achievement
Last week I talked about the pressure we face to perform well, and offered some general tips such as holistic awareness and goal setting. This week I offer more! In academics we are bombarded with messages of urgency: “Grab hold…
in which we talk about how to focus
Wandering around clubs fair during Orientation Week often produces an overwhelming adrenaline rush; we grab brochures, freebies and put our names down on a lot of mailing lists. New year. New start. September is the month to try new things.…
Tackling Tutorial In An Arts Degree
I had my first tutorial session last week. Being in my final year of an arts degree, tutorials are nothing new to me, but they still can fill me with a certain amount of anxiety. It seems every year I…
Why You’re Not Too Cool to Read
My answer to the classic question, “What three things would you take to a deserted island?” has unfailingly remained the same all my life – books. I started reading independently at a very early age (shortly after I turned two) and…
Ready, Set, …Wait, I’m Not Ready to Go
With frosh week gone (along with my voice and inability to stop turning day-to-day conversations into cheers #froshleaderproblems), it’s time to get on that back-to-school grind – that is, if you can first wrap your head around the amount of…
Necessary Evils
There’s only a little over a month left before the 2013-2014 academic year begins, and it only just feels like summer is getting started – I have yet to make a dent in my annual summer bucket list (you know,…
10 Types of Friends You’ll Most Likely Make at U of T
During your time at U of T, I bet you this year’s tuition that you are going to meet some of the most randomest, most beautiful, most unique or even the most interesting personalities you will ever meet in your…
“Can’t manage without …”
New School-year Resolution Le Deux. This year I will… 2. Manage my time better … Though I really, really don’t want to jinx myself, I usually do pretty well in school. And I should… after all, as any of you…
Just text me!
Okay, so everyone anticipates university being expensive. Tuition costs can be found online, and you can also look up how much it’ll cost to live on or near campus. Of course, you’ll still have to mortgage your iPod and maybe set up a payment plan on your liver, but there’s comfort in knowing how much you have to pay. In fact, the costs associated with university are generally set, or slightly variable under your control—your phone plan, food, rent, are all chosen by you, at least to a degree. Your tuition, gym membership etc. are set, and also invariable, so they can be planned for.
This leaves the big unknown, the real outlier, the forever elusive… textbook costs. Sometimes, a class will have a course materials pack costing $20 flat (though there are the hidden costs of the copy store potentially being swarmed by cops and “busted”). Other times there will be a textbook for $175, or a whole bunch of books (and the prof always says the specific editions matter…) for a cumulative $250.
All totaled, textbooks can cost as much as $1000 in a given semester, or as little as $250, in my experience, and their prices are completely out of your control.
EXCEPT! Oh, happy day! As in all things money-related the market has worked its magic and ways to save money (with additional costs in the form of time, travel and inconvenience, unfortunately) have appeared over the years.